Two suspects have been arrested in connection with a robbery outside a Marysville grocery May 9 that left an Arlington woman hospitalized for her injuries.
According to a police affidavit filed May 12 in Everett District Court, the 31-year-old Arlington woman told police she had arranged to meet one of the suspects, 31-year-old James Carol Howe of Bothell, in the Winco Foods parking lot, in the 3900 block of 116 Street NE, to collect on debts. The other suspect, 28-year-old Austin A. Wilson of Everett, allegedly attacked the woman at that location in an attempt to take her purse, hitting her in the face with a Glock handgun that reportedly fired during their struggle. The woman told police that, when the gun fired, she closed her eyes and felt something graze her lip, and said that the suspects made off with approximately $5,000 in cash and three ounces of methamphetamine when they took her purse and fled the area.
After the woman made it into the store and help was summoned, with Marysville Police and Fire District personnel responding at approximately 11:49 p.m., she was transported by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she was treated for broken teeth and a cut lip. According to police, Howe was arrested on the evening of May 11, and Wilson was arrested when he arrived just after midnight on May 12 at an Everett bar. Howe had arranged to meet Wilson at that location to buy heroin, and police found approximately 40 grams of heroin and drug scales in Wilson’s car at that time. Howe told police that he had received $700 from Wilson, who claimed that he found $1,700 in the woman’s purse.
Both suspects have been booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree robbery, while Wilson was also booked on charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Howe was ordered held in lieu of $500,000 bail, while Wilson, whose arrest could qualify him as a third-strike offender, was ordered held in lieu of $1 million bail. While Howe was convicted of forgery in April and failed to surrender to begin serving his sentence, Wilson is a registered sex offender who was under state supervision for child molestation and has served time for drug-related crimes and second-degree armed robbery. If charged and convicted of this robbery, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
According to Marysville Police Lt. Darin Rasmussen, police anticipate there may be additional arrests as the investigation progresses. Although the victim has a criminal history and police are still collecting evidence to corroborate her story, Rasmussen said that she is not under investigation.
Detectives are continuing to search for the location of the Glock handgun, and the suspect vehicle, a red Dodge Durango. Surveillance video obtained of the robbery showed several people in the parking lot at the time of the crime. Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the robbery, noticed the Dodge Durango driving through parking lot, or know anything about the robbery to contact Marysville Police Detective Cori Shackleton at 360-363-8327.
